The public spoke and said, "We want a Linux desktop," and Dell listened.

On Feb. 23, the company announced that, as a result of "the community's interest in open-source solutions like Linux and OpenOffice... we are working with Novell to certify our corporate client products for Linux..."

This will include "our OptiPlex desktops, Latitude notebooks and Dell Precision workstations. This is another step towards ensuring that our customers have a good experience with Linux on our systems," the company continued.

On the consumer side, Dell reported, "We don't want to pick one distribution and alienate users with a preference for another.

"We want users to have the opportunity to help define the market for Linux on desktop and notebook systems. In addition to working with Novell, we are also working with other distributors and evaluating the possibility of additional certifications across our product line."

Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols is editor of eWEEK.com's Linux & Open Source Center and Ziff Davis Channel Zone. Prior to becoming a technology journalist, Vaughan-Nichols worked at NASA and the Department of Defense on numerous major technological projects. Since then, he's focused on covering the technology and business issues that make a real difference to the people in the industry.
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